The first edition of Six Kings Slam has given us one last opportunity, as an extra gift, to see Rafa Nadal face his biggest rival in terms of direct confrontations, Novak Djokovicand whom many consider his heir, Carlos Alcaraz.
The match against Alcaraz has left an image to remember: the two tennis players jumping on the net and doing a sprint in unison before starting the match. A classic Rafa ritual that Alcaraz has incorporated into his pre-match routine.
The impact that Rafa has had is striking, despite the fact that he has never wanted to be a role model. When asked what he would say to children who dream of being like him in all parts of the world, Rafa was always clear: ““Let them not dream of being Rafa Nadal, let them dream of enjoying everyday life, which is the most important thing.”.
To which he added: “I never had such ambitious dreams. When I was little I never thought about being Agassi, Sampras or any of those I saw on television at that time. I worried about training well every day, enjoying my childhood with my friends.. On the tennis court I tried to do my best. That’s the only thing I was worried about, but I was trying to have fun. “A child has to enjoy thinking about the next day and nothing more.”.
Nadal does not intend to encourage young people not to have idols, or not to look like him (another gesture of humility that speaks of his greatness).
- Enjoying the journey will keep you from getting frustrated if you don’t achieve your goal, whatever it may be (and enjoying doesn’t mean not suffering, but telling Rafa…)
- Find your essence, what makes you unique and different.
- Control your expectations (those you set for yourself and those others set for you). Don’t set goals that are too high because they can lead to frustration. Not too low because they will make you settle.
If there is something good about copying Rafa, it is his mental balance: get up when we see ourselves almost sunk (or when they want to sink us) and get off a little when we see ourselves touching the sky (or when others place us there).
I couldn’t agree more with Rafa in his approach, but I think it is important to have references and want to be similar; why not, to Rafa, or to those people we consider worthy of admiration and copy.
When psychologists Penelope Lockwood y Ziva Kunda They asked a group of university students to make a list of the achievements they hoped to achieve in the next ten years, the results were common and ordinary. However, another group of students were first asked to read a newspaper story that talked about the incredible merits achieved by a university classmate. When they made their list, the members of the second group aimed much higher than the first. Having a model or reference increased their aspirations.
It wouldn’t be crazy to think that Rafa always had great aspirations since he was little. Just like Carlos Alcaraz. And it also had references, yes. He himself has acknowledged on several occasions that Carlos Moyà was one of his childhood idols and himself Charly He would become his mentor when Rafa began to stand out on the island and, later, his coach.
However, when precocity records kept coming into Rafa’s life, his uncle Toni was in charge of keeping his feet firmly on the ground. And the work of parents (or family members in the case of his uncle Toni) plays a key role when it comes to managing expectations and looking for references..
What can we do as parents/coaches so that our children/wards find those references both in sport and in any other discipline?
The first thing is to be clear about one thing: those mentors will not be us. Yes, parents are the first reference point for our children, but the idea is that we are not the first and the last. We need other people to fill that space. The father of comedian Lizz Winstead left us a good example of this when he saw that his daughter made public her political opinion – contrary to that of her father – and he told his daughter: “I have screwed up. I raised you to have a formed opinion and I forgot to tell you that it had to be mine…”.
Are we willing as parents for our children to think differently than us? Should your aspiration be to meet our expectations or create your own?
If as parents or coaches we want to encourage our children to be unique, broaden their vision and become the best version of themselves, We must be brave and allow them to find their own references in various areas so that they become more enriched. And, of course, encourage them to question everything, even what we tell them…
Finding a mentor is not always easy, but we can find inspiration in small actions, such as, for example, through books, reading the biographies of great personalities, such as Rafa Nadal himself, or simply watching his matches, observing him from the beginning. enters the track until it leaves it. Watching how Rafa gives everything he has at each point. Children are very bad at listening, but very good at imitating. Observational learning is wonderful.
Let’s not look like Nadal, let’s be Nadal. Let’s be that person who gives 100% in every little thing they do. By doing this, who knows if maybe one day we will end up surpassing our teachers, as Rafa did with Moyà himself, or as Alcaraz may one day do with Nadal.
Isn’t that what evolution consists of?
